I have thoroughly enjoyed the weekend here at BlogHer. Probably the best one I’ve been to yet. I’ve met a lot of great people, and attended many good discussions. The "un-conference" style format is, by far, my preference.

Today I moderated a panel on Professional Blogging with Jody DeVere, Paula Neal Mooney, Stefania Pomponi Butler and Chloe Spencer. It was an incredibly diverse panel on all the ways you can use blogs to make money, grow your business, or develop your own personal brand. It was well attended and there were a lot of good questions. I felt that we just skimmed the surface on many things, and perhaps would have liked to offer more tangible tips to both the bloggers and companies there, but I thoroughly enjoyed the panel. The recap is here.

Right now I’m listening to the keynote by Elizabeth Edwards. This time last year, Ianiv and I heard her husband, John Edwards, at Gnomedex. I think that I’ve been more impressed with Elizabeth. I don’t feel like she’s doing lip service to the topics she’s talking about – whether politics or technology or the women here at the conference. She is a very intelligent and well spoken woman.

I’ve enjoyed being in Chicago – love the shopping – and meeting so many amazing women. It was especially nice to meet fellow b5ers CJ and Mary Jo – and of course, to spend time with Leora.

Tonight we’re having the final BlogHer dinner at the Children’s Museum here on the gorgeous Navy Pier. Tomorrow is some relaxing, maybe some sun, and some shopping. And Monday I return home – crossing my fingers that I leave Chicago on time to make my connection!

Fans of Harry Potter have translated “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” to Spanish and put it online for anyone to read. The translations are available in different formats, including a blog with one chapter per page and a PDF. As I write this, the blog has logged over 1 million visits.
The translation began 2 days after the book was officially launched in English and it was finished yesterday. The work was done in collaboration with various fans and was given the title “Harry Potter y las reliquias de la muerte”.
The translation is not perfect and has some grammar and errors, but I’m sure that is a minor issue for all the Spanish speaking fans of the book who don’t have to wait for the official translation to come out in stores.
(Disclaimer: I don’t encourage copyright infringement, but it is a little unfair that non-English speakers have to wait longer for the book).

It looks like the IOC is changing its mind about the ban on blogs written by athletes during the Olympic Games. Currently, the rules prohibit athletes from working as journalists and that includes writing on the internet.

The IOC Press Commission, chaired by Australian Kevan Gosper, is set to recommend that the IOC’s powerful executive board drop its opposition to athletes writing blogs during the Games when it meets in November.

If the recommendation is approved athletes will still have to comply to strict rules such as not making any money and not criticising coaches or other athletes. They will also not be allowed to publish any video taken inside official Olympic venues. The main concerns being not giving a free platform for unofficial sponsors and not undermining the TV coverage by the official broadcasters.

If all goes well, athletes will be able to write on their blogs during the 2008 games in Beijing.

Harry Potter comes out tomorrow – and, in most places around the world, that means you can buy it one minute after midnight.

Ianiv and I are going to probably the lamest Harry Potter opening – at Save-On-Foods. Yep, that’s right. A grocery store.

Couldn’t find a book store that was selling the book right when it came out, and thought it would be fun for once to be a part of the release. So, when we saw the book department at our local Save-On was staying open late to hold a Harry Potter release party, we figured why not.

It’s perfect timing, really. With my long flights and stop-over on the way to Chicago bright and early Sunday morning, I’ll have something to read. I would read it in one sitting if I could, but alas that gets quite uncomfortable. Ianiv will just have to wait to get his hands on it until I get back.

What a contradiction of terms – alcohol that is good for you. This Green Tea vodka took 5 years to create just the right flavor – and contains the benefits of green tea, whether regulating body temperature or, perhaps, preventing certain ailments. Most of the "benefits" of green tea are unproven, but it’s nice to have an excuse ;)

The HomeDepot newsletter today had a great pet-lovers product feature. The Waterdog Automatic Outdoor Pet Drinking Fountain from Contech Electronics. Simply attach to an outdoor faucet and adjust to the height of your dog. WaterDog’s sonar proximity sensors will turn the water on when your dog is near, so there is always fresh cold water to drink.

An advanced copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the newest and final installment of the Potter series has been photographed page by page and put online for anyone to download. Although some of the pages are hard to read due to bad lighting, this definitely looks like the real deal.

There have been other supposed leaks in the past, but these have been dismissed as fan fiction.